Welcome to Tuesday Debut, Everyone!

I’m excited to introduce you to today’s debut-ess, because her publication journey followed a slightly different path than any we’ve encountered on Tuesday Debut before.

But first I want to announce the three lucky winners of a last week’s giveaway: a copy of BE MY VALENSLIME, graciously offered by Kris Tarantino’s publisher, Water Brook/Random House.

Are you ready?

JENNIFER RAUDENBUSH, STEFSENN77, and NANCY FERGUSON come on down and collect your prize!!! Such lucky ducks! Please email me with your full name and snail mail address so I can forward them to the publisher and get your books on their way to you ASAP! (Please use the provided link, the contact button, or susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com)

And, as if last week’s giveaways weren’t enough, the gifts continue as this week’s author is offering a picture book manuscript critique to one lucky winner! To qualify please leave a comment on today’s post by Monday January 22nd at 5 PM Eastern, and one of you will be randomly selected!

Now, I am thrilled to introduce you to today’s Tuesday Debut-ess, Cynthia Elomaa, who chose what I would call assisted self-publishing to publish her debut picture book. 

I know!

You’re interested to hear what on earth “assisted self-publishing” could possibly be!

So let’s find out! 😊

Title: Nicky’s Very Messy Room
Author: Cynthia Di Filippo Elomaa
Illustrator: Jonathan Buonaccorsi Izzard
Publishing House and Date of Publication: Stillwater River Publications January 8, 2024
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
Readership age range: 3-8

Nicky has to clean his room, but once his clothes are in the drawers, they jump right out again. When he puts his stuffed animals on his bed? They run away eager to play. Oh no, Mom’s on her way up the stairs, and his room is still a mess! How can he get all his things to behave in time? Join Nicky and his wondrous imagination as he learns, it’s fun to play and sometimes, it’s okay to ask for help.

SUSANNA: Welcome, Cynthia! Thank yo so much for joining us today! We are all excited to hear about your journey to publication. I am sure we can learn a lot from you! Where did the idea for this book come from?

CYNTHIA: The idea for Nicky’s Very Messy Room came from raising my boys. They are 2 years apart and at the time shared a room. I live in a small house, so we didn’t have a playroom for all their toys. My husband and I gave them the master bedroom which is the larger room so they could spread out and be more comfortable. 

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to write this book?

CYNTHIA: Writing the book didn’t take very long at all. Editing the poem took much longer. Perfecting poetry for a children is hard. I didn’t want to use words that were too big or too complicated for them to understand. At the same time I wanted to make the poem enjoyable for adults as well. I wanted a story both the parent and child can take something from.

SUSANNA: Such an important consideration in any picture book, since they are intended for a dual audience! Did you go through many revisions?

CYNTHIA: I had a ton of revisions. I would read the poem aloud to myself constantly to make sure I didn’t stammer myself as I was reading it. I would put two different stanzas next to each other and read them out loud within the flow of the story to see which one sounded better within the story. Picture books are to be read out loud, so I didn’t want the adult reading the story to trip over the words or the stanza.

SUSANNA: When did you know your manuscript was ready for publication?

CYNTHIA: Unfortunately I didn’t have many critique partners for my Nicky series. Poems are hard and I found most people shied away from wanting to help out. Others insisted on making my story something it wasn’t. It isn’t a story in rhyme, it is a poem set to pictures. Something that really hasn’t been done before.

SUSANNA: That is very interesting. At what point did you decide to self-publish rather than submit to traditional publishers?  Did you try traditional first? Or did you have specific reasons for wanting to self-publish?

CYNTHIA: I did try traditional publishers first. I’m still trying to publish traditionally. The roadblock I have come across is that literary agents shy away from poems or rhyming stories, and most agents only want to take on clients who are author/ illustrators. I’m a writer. I hired a very talented illustrator to create the illustrations.

SUSANNA: How did you find an illustrator?

CYNTHIA: A friend of mine self published his own picture book. I had no idea he was doing it. I wasn’t crazy about the illustrations for his book, but the pictures intrigued me enough to follow through and ask Ace who he used and check out his illustrator’s other work. After reaching out to Ace and finding the illustrator’s web presence I decided to contact him. He is a local to the area so I was able to meet with him in person to see if this was going to be a good fit.

By the end of the first meeting, I loved him. Jonathan is sweet, dedicated, versatile in his work, and very talented. Plus, he came up with the right numbers for the job.

SUSANNA:  Did you and Jonathan have a contract of any kind?  What types of items did it address?

CYNTHIA: Jonathan and I do not have a contract, but as things go forward and progress, we discussed maybe having one made if need be. Jonathan is a free-lance illustrator.

SUSANNA:  Are you able to give a ballpark figure of any kind (or a specific one if you’re so inclined ☺) about the cost of the illustrator?

CYNTHIA: I researched the cost of illustrators through Stillwater River Publications, who is my publisher, and compared those numbers to Jonathan. It was a wash. Prices ranged from $60 dollars an illustration to $200 dollars and illustration, depending on experience.   

SUSANNA: For those who may not be familiar with it, Stillwater River Publications is “an affordable self-publishing alternative for independent authors and writers.” They provide “meaningful, affordable, and realistic guidance that will help you realize your dream of becoming a published author.” Very handy for those looking to self-publish who feel they could benefit from assistance. What was the illustration process like since you were directing it? Any particular challenges?  Anything you particularly enjoyed?

CYNTHIA: I never knew how hard it would be. It was fun. I loved it, but ultimately the final decision was mine. What did I want Nicky to look like? What did I want his stuffed animals to look like? His mom. All these decisions I had to make and once Jonathan drew up the characters, I had to tweak them. Jonathan and I decided the illustrations would be hand drawn, not digital. I liked the texture of the hand drawing opposed to the digital look. 

Jonathan and I went through a number of edits to get everything perfect. Mainly because once I showed the illustrations to my sister, who is a kindergarten teacher, she opened my eyes to things in the illustrations which needed to be changed. We were entering the coloring stage and I had to stop the presses and make some unexpected changes to many illustrations before we could go forward. For example, I had nerf dart and nerf gun in the manuscript and illustrations. I had all references to them taken out. The darts became crayons and the nerf gun a crayon box. I was use to use generic terms and not name brand as well. Thank goodness, Jonathan understood the reasoning for the changes, and he had them done fairly quickly.

SUSANNA: How did you format your book for publication?

CYNTHIA: I decided on a smaller book for publication (8.5×8.5 inch trim size that would fit nicely into a child’s hand), going with a small boutique local publishing company in the area. I am able to call, and visit anytime I need to.

SUSANNA:  How did you select a printing service?

CYNTHIA: I was playing around with the idea to self publish. I researched Stillwater River Publications but was still on the fence about taking that leap. Once I spoke to my friend Ace and he told me he used Stillwater River Publications, I felt comfortable enough to give them a call and set up an appointment. 

SUSANNA: Did you do a print run so you’d have inventory, or is your book print-on-demand? (And where is your book available – online bookstores? brick and mortar bookstores?)

CYNTHIA: All books are print run. This is so I have copies in hand for in person author events. They can also be ordered through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and they’re available in local bookstores as well. I have a link on my website at http://www.cynthiadifilippoelomaa.com to my book on Amazon. 

SUSANNA:  How long was the process from writing through publication of your book?

CYNTHIA: That is hard to answer. I wrote Nicky’s Very Messy Room a number of years ago. But if I had to put a number on it? More than 10 years. From the time I started working with Jonathan and getting the illustrations created to publication, I would say close to a year. I started in the Spring of 2023 and Nicky’s Very Messy Room is due out before the end of 2023.

SUSANNA:  Were you able to get your book reviewed by Kirkus, SLJ, Hornbook, Booklist etc?

CYNTHIA: I looked into Kirkus, I’m not sure I can afford to go that route. I’m working on getting reviews now.

SUSANNA: Describe any marketing/promotion you did for this book.

CYNTHIA: I’m on Twitter and Instagram a lot trying to get my book out there. I’m in the process of reaching out to as many organizations as I can. Preschools, schools, blogs, friends who I know have small kids. I’ve a lot to learn there, and I’ll be honest. I’m going to need all the help I can get. I’m hoping to hire a marketing consultant to help me out. 

SUSANNA: Anything else you’d like to share about your book’s journey from inspiration to publication?

CYNTHIA: This is a lifelong dream for me. I’ve wanted to be a writer my whole life. I’ve done everything I can to hone my craft and help others get published. Now it’s my turn. If you can dream it, you can do it. Just work hard, accept the rejection, learn from it and strive to do better. You have to love what you do, and this is what I love to do. My goal? I want children and adults to smile when they read my work, and I’d love for adults to see the world through the eyes of a child, just one more time. 

SUSANNA: That is a worthy goal! Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this series and paying it forward to other writers, Cynthia! We so appreciate the opportunity to learn from your experience, and wish you all the best with this and future titles!

Readers, if you have questions for Cynthia, please post them in the comments below and if she has time I’m sure she’ll respond!

Author Cynthia Di Filippo Elomaa

Website: www.cynthiadifilippoelomaa.com
X (Twitter): @CynthiaElomaa
Instagram: @cynthiaelomaa 

You may purchase Cynthia’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our debut authors successfully launch their careers by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a lovely, inspiration-filled Tuesday!  Maybe today is the day you’ll write your debut picture book 😊

Missed any previous Tuesday Debuts?  Check them out HERE!